Monthly Archives: May 2009

mi familia…

while visiting my family last week, I was so lucky to have my sister Gena take some photographs of my family.  We gave her about 10 minutes & lots of squirly little kiddos and she took a windy cold evening and turned into into a family heirloom for me.  She even took some pics of Jason and I together and I love that she could create some fun images of he and I to treasure…I know my kiddos will love seeing them down the road…

Adam was 5 weeks here…

me and my Ava..I call her “my child” cuz i think her look actually favors mommy more than Daddy… :)

Our kissin monsta in action…

Jason says Adam looks like his Father…I love that…

 

Love the sentiment in this one Gen…thank you…

my fav image of Jase and I…love his expression…

thanks Gena for capturing my family…we’ll book you again in a few months when I drop the baby weight!  :)

I got to snap some pics of Gena’s gorgeous fam…stay tuned..

xoxo

Tonya 

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miss me?

we are out of town…spending a week at grandma & papa’s…

the girls are in “Heaven” and loving playing with cousins, swimming, and visiting with family.  I am getting some rest, left photoshop at home, and my camera is taking a little vacation as well.  I will have more fresh photos and answers to emails and voice mails after the weekend…

Hope everyone is having a beautiful week!

xoxo

Tonya

 

 

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planting seeds…

yesterday we rolled out a big roll of paper, dumped the crayons on top, and colored together.  The day had been going a little crazy and I just decided it was time to just sit down together and have “art time” (as my girls call it…)

Ella started with a rainbow…I watched her cute little hands guide the bowed colors as they came together perfectly to create something so beautiful.  I loved hearing her talk about her day and the look in her eye as I told her how beautiful her drawing was…

Ava first played out side in the little pool and Mia rode her little scooter with her bottle in tow as her favorite side kick…

they came in to see what Ella and I were up to, and I decided to doodle out a little tree. 

Adam napped in the little pack & play feet away in the family room. 

Warm air blew in the kitchen slider and the smell of summer wafted in the room from the fresh grass clippings that filled the air.  Little drips of hose water stained the drawing as Ava climbed up to join in on the crayola time…

I gave my tree a few red apples and Ava requested green, then ella pink, and so I threw in some blue for my Mia Blue…

I sat back and watched the girls all quietly coloring and took a deep breath.  It felt like the first in a while.  It felt like the first quiet moment in a while.  Then I took in the moment with such an appreciation for the beauty that surrounded me. 

 

You know, I am freshly aware that one of the greatest challenges to a young mother is to truly enjoy the sweetness of this time of our life while we are in it

No doubt, we will all look back on the time when our children are young with such tenderness; it will forever be reveled as a time of innocence and purity and I have no doubt that we will wish it back…we will wish it back. 

I am already wishing it back. 

The beauty of it is…this time is both brutally hard, exhausting, and frustrating…but it is equally magical,

yes…magical,

and beautiful, and amazing… 

I know for me, sometimes the hard things outshine the good.  I always feel so sad when I end up in bed in tears over the bad mommy day I had, how I was so grumpy, impatient, or just so negative about the day.  The best cure for me is to look over my sleeping babes and take a quiet moment (usually much too far past midnight) and open my eyes wide to my reality.  

Then I see the seeds I have been dropping along the way…

 the kisses I give…

blooming…

the bodies I feed, care for, hold, and chase around…

growing…

the little people who I take for granted that they will always be there…as little children…

becoming…

…I found myself distracted in the busy swift pace of the day…then I looked down and saw what ella was creating…

and I saw a seed growing…a new tree being created…just like me…just like mine…that would not be there…if it were not for me…

everyday is important. 

every moment is important.

the good ones.

the bad ones.

every seed that is planted will grow…into something beautiful…

xoxo

Tonya

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…morning…

morning is by far my favorite time of the day these days…

waking first thing and feeling fresh and ready to face a new day…

truth be told…I have really been feeling like I have got my hands full.  With all it’s beauty and blessing, my days have been the hardest work of my life yet. 

 ( my past “career” with my crazy 12 hour shifts in the Emergency room seems like a cake walk these days…)

but without a doubt, this hard work is well worth it…

mornings are sweet.  my girls wake so happy.  the mornings really are so calm and peaceful.  some mornings, I even wake to ella helping her sisters to cereal and them all sitting chatting happily at the table watching mickey mouse clubhouse…

some mornings, i get to lay in bed and just take in how beautiful they look before they wake.

this morning, i woke to this 4 week old little face…

adam is such a joy to have in our home.  the other day, I was out back rocking him on the patio and he was sleeping in my arms.  I leaned down and gave him a little kiss on his forehead and he did the cutest little giggle/coo in his sleep…it was so dang sweet.

he is growing fast and we all love him very much…

life is both incredibly busy and slow at the same time right now.  i think the best way to describe it is by calling them the roller coaster days…we sure have our ups and downs, but I am trying my best to just enjoy the ride :)

the thing that helps me the most is stoping to see the small simple things that make my life beautiful…

every day is a blessing…

xoxo

Tonya

 

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my life. my kids. my love. my…

my life. my kids. my love. my…

 

they are all i love and inspire me to be a better person daily…i am so blessed to be their mother…truly given a life in giving them theirs…

…they are my joy…

beki…thank you for creating this for me…love it…

{see more of beki’s creations here…and peek into her fab blog here…}

xoxo

Tonya

 

 

 

 

 

 

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